Graceland Chronicles

"SHE CALLED ME A WITCH AT MY OWN ENGAGEMENT" — Part 2

Chinenye didn't remember how she got home that night.
She remembered the drummers packing up their instruments in silence. She remembered her mother refusing to look at anyone on the drive back. She remembered her father's jaw tight the whole ride, saying nothing, because in their house, some things were too painful to discuss out loud.

What she couldn't stop replaying was Desmond's silence.
Not his mother's words. She'd expected those, honestly. What broke something in her was the way Desmond just stood there.

The man who told her every night for three years that she was "the only one for him." The man who said his mother would "come around eventually." The man who, in the one moment that mattered most, said absolutely nothing.

Around 11pm, her phone rang. Desmond.
She almost didn't pick up.
"Chinenye, I'm sorry about today," he said, voice low, like he was hiding in another room. "My mother, she's... she's just like that. Just give her time, she'll come around."

Chinenye sat up. "Desmond. She said the marriage will happen over her dead body. In front of everyone. And you said nothing."
A pause.
"What did you want me to do? Argue with my mother in front of the whole compound? I can't disrespect her like that."
"But you can let her disrespect me like that?"
Silence.
"Just... just manage her small," he finally said. "Women like her, once she sees how patient you are, she'll soften. My aunty said the same thing happened to her before her wedding."

Chinenye stared at the wall, phone pressed to her ear, and for the first time in three years, she heard something she hadn't let herself hear before.
He wasn't going to protect her. He expected her to survive his mother alone.
To be continued... 👀
Part 3 drops next — Desmond makes a decision that Chinenye never sees coming. Follow,like and comment so you don't miss it.

"SHE CALLED ME A WITCH AT MY OWN ENGAGEMENT"— Part 1
Chinenye met Desmond in her final year at UNILAG. Three years of love. Three years of hiding video calls from his mother because "Mummy doesn't like anything she hasn't chosen herself."

When Desmond finally introduced her, his mother, Mrs. Okonkwo, looked Chinenye up and down and said just one sentence:
"You people from Delta, una too like to hold man with juju."
Chinenye laughed it off. Love conquers all, she told herself.

But it got worse. Mrs. Okonkwo started "accidentally" inviting her friend's daughter — a pharmacist — to every family event.
She'd say things like, "Desmond, see as Ijeoma don grow reach, she go make good wife o" — right in front of Chinenye, like she wasn't even there.

Chinenye stayed quiet. She was raised to respect her elders, even the ones who disrespected her.
Then came the traditional engagement day.
The compound was full — aso-ebi, drums, family from both sides. Chinenye knelt to present the kola nut, as tradition demanded.

Before she could rise, Mrs. Okonkwo stood up in front of everyone and announced:
"I have not given my blessing. This marriage will happen over my dead body."

The compound went silent. Chinenye's mother started crying quietly into her wrapper. The drummers stopped mid-beat.
And Desmond — the man who promised to always stand by her —
Just stood there. He didn't say a word.
To be continued... 👀
Part 2 drops tomorrow — hit FOLLOW,like and comment 🙏so you don't miss what Chinenye discovers next. It changes everything.